Dita Von Teese Talks Perfume and Lingerie, Gives Us a Sneak Peek at Her HSN Line

Burlesque star Dita Von Teese is no stranger to designing lingerie — her retro-glam underpinnings for Von Follies are already available in Europe and Australia — but, for the first time ever, her pin-up-worthy creations will reach a much wider audience, thanks to HSN.

On April 23rd, the at-home shopping giant will roll out new pieces under Von Teese's Von Follies label (think satiny bras with lace overlays, and 1950's-inspired high-waisted briefs, priced from $25 to $45), and a namesake fragrance ($20 to $75), which — and we almost never say this about celebrity scents — actually smells sexy. In a very "I wear blood red lipstick the way other women wear chapstick," kind of way. Which Dita Von Teese does.(Courtesy of HSN)

She also has perfect posture, and works fist-sized brooches like it's NBD, as we learned when we caught up with her at The Lion in New York City. But even someone as put-together as Von Teese has the occasional fashion slip-up. Like, for instance, when her boyfriend had to gently tell her that her new favorite perfume — the one that she paid $300 a bottle for — was the same one his mother wore. And that's how the aforementioned sexy scent was born.

Check out more of our lingerie and perfume chat, below:

StyleBistro: Tell us a little bit about the inspiration behind your Von Follies line for HSN.

Dita Von Teese: HSN has chosen pieces from the Von Follies collection that they think would be good for their customer. What they've chosen here too are sizes that go up to a G cup. It's important to me to appeal to a diverse size and shape of woman. My goal was to bring beauty and glamour and fit and function all together in one lingerie line. (Courtesy of HSN)

StyleBistro: Your lingerie is so pretty that you almost don't want to hide it. Are you a fan of letting it peek out?

Dita Von Teese: I did design a dress in my dress collection, which is at Decades. I did do one particular dress that was meant to showcase lingerie. It's called the 'Showcase Dress.' I love when a little bit of lace peeks out.

StyleBistro: And you designed a fragrance, too! What was that process like?

Dita Von Teese: My first scent, which was just my namesake, Dita Von Teese, was created to replace my signature scent when I found out that my boyfriend's mother wore the same perfume. I was living in Paris, and at the same time was approached to create my own perfume, which was perfect. So I really spent a lot of time working on it. (Courtesy of HSN)

StyleBistro: So it's not your typical celebrity scent then.

Dita Von Teese: Usually when you create a celebrity perfume, you go in and the perfumer will say "Well here is what did well in the focus group. Just choose one of these and you'll do well." But I was really insistent on creating my own from scratch, and I did just that. I spent a year and a half making it, and it's a voluptuous, sophisticated floral. There are notes of peony, sparkling bourbon pepper, Bulgarian rose, jasmine, smoky wood, and a touch of patchouli. It's a very grown-up, glamorous, refined, sophisticated scent. I didn't want anything that was a gourmand, or too vanilla.

StyleBistro: You're so busy and you're involved in so many different shows and projects. How are you not tired? Can you walk us through a typical day?

Dita Von Teese: I wake up pretty early. I usually go do pilates first thing. And then I'll come home and I make this green smoothie that I drink every day for breakfast. I'll have tea and answer my email. Maybe I'll have lunch with a friend if I'm not working. I have a library full of vintage books, so sometimes I'll just get lost in there and pull pictures that I'm inspired to create lingerie with, or perfume bottles.